Boundary Waters Canoe Trip with Tuscarora Outfitters

Our Boundary Waters canoe trip with Tuscarora Outfitters was the trip of a lifetime. I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life and have always wanted to visit, but planning the trip seemed so daunting and overwhelming.

I partnered with Tuscarora Outfitters for this trip and they made everything SO EASY. I can’t recommend them enough! Please note that all opinions in this article are my own 🙂

Here’s all the details about our Boundary Waters Canoe Trip with Tuscarora Outfitters. If you have any more questions, just ask them in the comments below! Enjoy!

Boundary Waters Canoe Trip with Tuscarora Outfitters

 

Planning your trip

Planning your trip to the Boundary Waters is half the work. Hence why I haven’t visited till now! Tuscarora Outfitters made it super easy. Check out their website for routes based on days and skill level, and just give them a call if you have any questions! They recommended a route for us, obtained the accurate permit we needed, and walked us through everything we needed to know when we got there. I was very impressed by their reaction to COVID as well, masks are required inside any common building.

Our trip route

 

We wanted to take a 3 day, 2 night trip, so we took the Snipe Loop that starts right near Tuscarora Lodge and ends on Round Lake, right by their lodge. You can see this route highlighted in green. We decided we wanted to do more paddling than just the Snipe Loop, so we started at the entry point at Tuscarora Lodge, paddled through Ham Lake, Rib Lake, and down to Long Island Lake. You can see what we added with the pink arrow. We stayed here for our two nights (more about our AMAZING campsite below!) and then paddled back up through Rib lake through Snipe Lake and Round Lake to complete the loop. 

Packing for your trip

One of the big reason I recommend Tuscarora Outfitters is because they provide all the necessities for your trip. They offer different packages based on what you need, but being we live in a little condo in downtown Minneapolis and have very minimal camping and canoe gear, we used their Equipment and Canoe Package, meaning the only necessity we needed to bring was food. All other camping, canoe, and cooking gear was provided, along with the packs!

Additional gear

With that said, we still decided we wanted a few more extras along with us on our trip to make things more comfortable. To see a list of the additional things we packed, like camping chairs, bug tents, hammocks, flashlights, water sandals, etc. click here!

Related post: Boundary Waters Packing List

Staying at Tuscarora

It takes about an hour to get from Grand Marais (the last town before you get to Tuscarora, and the last place you’ll have cell service). If you want to get an early start on your first canoe day, stay in a Tuscarora bunk house like we did! These are no-frills bunkhouses, but was just what we needed for a quick night’s sleep. It felt like I was a kid back at camp! We then woke up for an early breakfast the next morning in their dining hall for one last meal before the trip.

Canoeing

Our trips on the canoes through the lakes had some of the most gorgeous Minnesota views I’ve ever witnessed. No wonder people love it up here! We had 5 people total on our trip, meaning we had a 2-person canoe and a 3-person canoe. This worked perfect for us and was plenty of room to hold all our packs.

Portaging

Portaging was one thing I was a little nervous for as we were planning this trip. We had 4 HUGE packs with our camping and cooking equipment and clothes. And then additional smaller packs (but still heavy!) for food and personal items we wanted on the canoes with us. The key here is to pack light, to use one of Tuscarora’s light weight canoes, and to be in decent shape. This made such a huge difference!

I was lucky that I didn’t have to portage a canoe, but if you’re with a smaller group and don’t have your husband to carry the canoe like I did, two people can portage the canoe while still wearing packs. Just make sure to pack even lighter! You can also plan a route that has short and minimal portages.

Waterfalls

One of our favorite things to do while canoeing was to find waterfalls and cool off. We got lucky with 3 beautiful days at the end of June, but it was HOT! There’s usually pretty rapids and falls near the portages, so keep your eye out. My absolute favorite were the falls on Cross Bay Lake (the last two photos before this paragraph!)

Camping

We found the most amazing campsite while on our trip that we decided to stay there for both nights! It’s located on Long Island Lake right on a peninsula that juts out into the lake, giving you views of the water on three sides. It had really nice tree coverage along with a large rock that led right to the lake that provided a great fishing and swimming spot. A pit toilet and metal grill frame was on site – but please remember to leave no trace while you camp!

Fishing

Tuscarora Outfitters doesn’t provide fishing equipment, but they do sell some in their gift shop. They also know ALL the good fishing spots on your route! The morning we left, they mapped out our route and highlighted which lakes have the best walleye, and they were right! We caught walleye on Cross Bay Lake and Northern on Long Island Lake, where we stayed. We then brought batter (flour and lowry seasoning) and oil to fry the fish up – yum!

Enjoy your time in the Boundary Waters! And be sure to use Tuscarora Outfitters. They’ll take good care of you!
Explore the 70+ other entry points and BWCA permit issuing stations.